Sunday, September 25, 2005

Close schools to save on gas. And,

Pgh Public Schools are closed on Tuesday. Georgia is closing all schools on Monday and Tuesday. Guess they don't have 'snow days' to look forward to as often as we do in the north.

Bloomberg.com: U.S. Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Georgia will close all public schools on Monday and Tuesday to conserve fuel in light of disruptions caused by two hurricanes in the past month, Governor Sonny Perdue said. The closures will save about 500,000 gallons of diesel, Perdue, a Republican, said at a press conference in Atlanta that was broadcast over the Internet. The governor also urged people to avoid unnecessary trips to save gasoline. ``We don't know what will happen, but it is probable that we will again see temporary disruptions of our fuel supply,'' Perdue said. ``We don't want a repeat of the wasteful and unnecessary gas panic we saw right after Katrina.'' On Sept. 2, Perdue signed an executive order that waived the state's 7.5-cents-a-gallon excise tax and a 4 percent sales tax on gasoline through the end of September. About 24 percent of U.S. refining capacity has been shut in Texas this week with Rita's approach, while 5 percent remains closed because of Katrina, which hit Louisiana and Mississippi.

Did our Gov ever act in lowering the gas tax? He thought it was a good idea, then changed his mind. But either way -- I am not certain that he is capable of acting in a deliberate and decisive way.

If schools had a one day school week, rather than five -- think of all the money that would be saved.

The aim is NOT to save money. The aim is to educate kids without waste. Our kids are getting beat by much of the rest of the world. We need to teach, educate and allow kids and families and communities options that insure we all can thrive. I don't want to only survive. I don't want to put a lid on excellence.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

A short-term reduction in the gas tax would be a bad idea--nothing more than a windfall to the gasoline companies.

Prices are determined by supply and demand. Lowering the gas tax would not change the supply of gas in the short-term. In the long-term, it may increase the supply, but the gasoline companies are already doing everything they can to increase supply, so there's no reason to lower the gas tax until AFTER we get those oil pumps and refineries back on-line.